A couple from Douglasdale in Gauteng have turned to AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit for help after they received notification from SAPS that their case against alleged holiday swindler, Francois Swart, was closed because it was false and there was no indication that a crime was committed.

Swart, the director of Priority Escapes based in Fourways, Johannesburg, handed himself over to police in December after a separate criminal case was opened against him in Modimolle in August.

He is set to appear in court again tomorrow (February 23), on allegations that he defrauded Pamela-Anne Dolan and Bugs van Heerden by allegedly accepting full payments for an overseas holiday, never paying for the flights or hotel accommodation, and issuing them with false documents.

Advocate Gerrie Nel, head of AfriForum’s prosecution unit, wrote a letter to the provincial head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation unit (Hawks) in Gauteng, asking why the Douglasdale case has been closed.

He expressed concern about the ‘lethargic approach by SAPS to financial syndicated investigations’ and the alleged conduct of the investigating officer.

In a press release, the civil rights organisation says their prosecution unit has been ‘inundated with requests for help from people who allege Swart defrauded them’.

The unit mentions a voice note in which a man who introduced himself as a Hawks detective tasked with investigating Swart, advises members on a WhatsApp group to turn to the AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit if they feel like the police are not doing their job.

In his letter to the Hawks, Nel says the WhatsApp group was created by people who allege that they have been defrauded by Swart, to ‘gather, share and solve’ their matters, which they claim have been largely unattended by SAPS.

Nel writes that he finds it concerning that a straightforward fraud case was referred to the Hawks. Complainants were also allegedly informed that the investigation might take up to three years.

AfriForum invited the media to attend Swart’s court case tomorrow, saying they expect dozens of complainants, many of who are prepared to be interviewed, to be present.